Unburying the Past
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: Tim is attacked by someone he hoped to never see again, bringing his painful past back to haunt him.  Will he allow Gibbs to help him deal with everything or will he push him away
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of its characters**

**Unburying the Past**

Timothy McGee was pretty sure he was screwed. It was only 9am and his day already off to a horrible start. He'd slept straight through his alarm, making him a half hour late. And if that weren't enough, he'd misplaced his NCIS ID. For some reason, he hadn't put it in his desk with his gun like he usually did. It had taken him about fifteen minutes to find him, making him almost an hour late for work. Gibbs was going to kill him.

After finally getting all his things together, Tim practically ran down to his car. He was about to get in when he saw the reflection of someone through the glass. He turned around just in time to take a blow to the head sending him to the ground.

Tim grabbed his head in agony before looking up. He was thrown by what he saw, or rather, _who _he saw. "You."

"Yeah, me. I told you I'd come back for you, Timmy," the man said before grabbing Tim up by the jacket and then slamming his fist into his face. Then the man punched and kicked him repeatedly in the stomach.

Tim forced himself to get over the shock and fight back. He stood up and took a swing, just barely missing the other man.

"You always did punch like a girl, Timmy," the man said before grabbing him and throwing him against the car, face first.

Tim screamed as he felt something in his nose crack. He knew it was broken. Ignoring the pain, he body slammed his assailant as hard as he could, sending him to the ground. He stood up and went to get his gun out, but before he was able to, he found himself being pushed to the ground and his attacker was on top of him.

Tim kneed the man in the groin, causing him to get off him and scream in agony.

"You're gonna pay for that, you little bastard!"

Tim managed to get his gun out this time and point it at the man.

"That supposed to scare me? You won't do it," he said confidently.

"I don't want to, but I will if I have to," Tim said. That actually probably wasn't true. As much as he hated this man, he could never shoot him, not him. He didn't need to know that though. "Get out of here, JJ, I mean it."

JJ managed to get himself up. This isn't over. I'm gonna destroy you the same way you destroyed me," he said before leaving.

Tim stood there for a minute in pain before making himself get up. He took out his wallet and staggered over to a couple of bushes and emptied the contents of his wallet into it. He then threw his empty wallet onto the ground nearby and went back over to the car and slid to the ground. He then took out his phone and dialed a number. "Yes, my name is Timothy McGee. I've just been mugged."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs ran through the halls of Bethesda. Tony and Ziva were trailing behind him. He'd just gotten the call that his agent had been attacked outside his home.

They walked into the room they'd been pointed to and found Tim sitting up in a bed with a doctor nearby.

"Hey, Guys," Tim said when he saw his teammates.

"McGee, are you alright?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah. Just a few bruises, right, Doc?" Tim asked.

"Well, I think it's a little more than a few bruises, but you'll live," the doctor said.

"What are his injuries?" Gibbs asked.

"He has a broken nose, a couple of bruised ribs, and a slight concussion. Like I said though, he should be fine," the doctor said.

"You keeping him?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, as long as someone can stay with him to check up on him, I don't see any reason he can't go home today," he said.

"He'll stay with me tonight," Gibbs assured him.

"Boss, you don't have to do that," Tim said. He didn't want to put his boss out like that. The man shouldn't have to take care of him.

"It's done, McGee," Gibbs said in a tone that left no room for argument.

"Okay. In that case, I'll have them start working on his discharge papers," the doctor said before leaving.

"Man, McGee, you look terrible," Tony said.

"Gee, thanks," Tim said sarcastically.

"What happened, Tim?" Gibbs asked.

Tim sighed and mentally prepared himself to tell the version of the story he'd practiced in his head. "I was getting in my car when I saw a reflection in the glass. I turned around and this guy just started wailing on me. He hit me with something. I think it was a two by four. Then he started punching me."

"Didn't you have your gun on you?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, but I couldn't get to it. Every time I tried, he was on me again. I didn't stand a chance," Tim said. That was actually true. Without his gun, he never stood a fighting chance against JJ. Sure he'd gotten a couple of shots in, but he knew that JJ would've one a physical fight. He was much stronger than him. "Anyway, after a few minutes of hitting me, he grabbed my wallet and took off

"Do not take this the wrong way, McGee, but you are trained to fight off attacks like this," Ziva said. She wasn't trying to make him feel worse or anything, but she didn't understand why he couldn't fight off a common mugger.

"So was he. He's ex-military," Tim said without thinking. As soon as he realized his mistake, he tried to fix it. "I mean, I think so. He moved like a lot of military men I've seen."

"Why did he leave your phone and gun?" Gibbs asked.

"What do you mean?" Tim asked.

"He mugged you. He reached into your pocket and grabbed your wallet. He must have seen your gun and phone. But he left them. Why would he do that?" Gibbs asked. This wasn't making much sense to him. Any mugger would've made sure to take that gun from Tim. Probably the phone too, but definitely the gun.

Tim mentally slapped himself on the back of the head for not thinking about that. Of course a mugger would've taken his gun. "Um, well, I guess he was satisfied with the cash and credit cards."

"Uh huh," Gibbs said, clearly not believing it.

"Look, I don't know why he didn't take them. I've told you everything I know," Tim said, almost defensively.

"Okay. I'm gonna go see if I can't fast track your release," Gibbs said before walking out of the room.

Tony followed his boss into the hallway. "Boss-"

"I know, Tony," Gibbs said. He knew what his senior field agent and he agreed with him. Tim was lying.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This chapter cointains spoilers for episode 9x3 entitled 'Penelope's Papers'.**

Tony and Ziva pulled up to Tim's apartment building. "What is it you expect to find here, Tony?"

"I don't know, but I'm not leaving until I found out what he's hiding," Tony said as he got out of the car.

Ziva got out as well. "Why would he lie about being mugged?"

"I don't know, but he is. You heard his story. There were way too many holes. He's hiding something," Tony said as he looked around Tim's car.

"But he has injuries. He did not do those things to himself," Ziva said.

"I'm not saying he wasn't attacked. I just don't think it was a simple mugging," Tony said. He knew his partner hadn't made up the attack. He would never do anything like that. He might lie about the nature of the attack if he felt he had to.

Ziva began looking around. He caught what looked to be a homeless man by a couple of bushes. She immediately went over to him. "Excuse me."

The man turned to her. "I found it, I swear."

"Found what?" Ziva asked as she glanced into the bushes. She reached in and pulled out an ID. It was Tim's driver's license. "Tony!"

Tony immediately stopped what he was doing and went over. "What's up?"

Ziva showed him what she'd found. "You were correct. It appears McGee was not mugged after all."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim followed Gibbs into his house. "Boss, this really isn't necessary. I can just go home."

"You're not going anywhere, Tim. Not with that concussion," Gibbs said. Aside from the concussion though, he wasn't planning on letting Tim leave until he found exactly what he was hiding.

"Okay, but I'm sure you have work to do. Go ahead, I'll be fine here," Tim said. He was really hoping that Gibbs would leave him alone long enough so that he could get out of there. He needed to figure out what he was going to do about JJ. He knew the threats that he'd made to him were not idle. He'd learned a long time ago that JJ could either be your best friend or your worst enemy.

"Drop it, McGee. I'm not going anywhere and neither are you. Now go on upstairs and get some rest," Gibbs told him.

"Boss, I'm fine," Tim tried to tell him.

"That wasn't a request. Go!" Gibbs ordered.

Tim sighed and then headed up the stairs. He knew better than to question that kind of tone from his boss. He went upstairs and into the spare bedroom. He laid down on the bed and started thinking about the past.

_Flashback_

_Twelve-year-old Tim McGee was sitting on the front step feeling depressed. He'd once again got his hopes up that his father could actually be proud of him about something just to be disappointed again._

"_Hey there, little dude."_

_Tim looked up and smiled slightly. It was his best and only friend. "Hey, JJ."_

_JJ sat down next to Tim. "So what's up with you? You sound depressed."_

_Tim shrugged his shoulders. "I came in second at the science fair."_

"_That's awesome, man. Why aren't you psyched?" JJ asked._

"_Dad said I should've been first. He said I should've done better," Tim told him as he looked down at his hands._

"_Don't listen to him, Timmy. You did awesome," JJ said._

"_I just wish he could be proud of me just once," he said._

"_I bet he is. He just can't show it."_

"_That's what Penny says," Tim said. Penny was his grandmother, but she didn't like to be called that. She said it made her feel old. _

"_Your grandmother's a really smart lady," JJ said. _

_Tim suddenly noticed a piece of paper in JJ's hands. "What's that?"_

"_Oh, these are my orders," JJ said._

"_Your orders. What do you mean?"_

"_I've joined the Marines, Timmy. I ship out as soon as I turn eighteen," JJ told him. _

_Tim was shocked and horrified. He knew that JJ would eventually be leaving. JJ was much older than him and would be turning eighteen within a couple of months. He never thought he'd be leaving like this though. "You're leaving me?"_

"_It's not like that, Timmy. Look, I have to do something with my life, right? I'm no good with school. This is my only shot. Can't you understand that?" JJ asked._

"_I guess. I just don't want you to go," Tim said._

"_Hey, I'll be back. Someone's gotta keep you on your toes. I'll be back before you know it."_

"_What if you come back like my dad? Penny says my dad's the way he is because of the army," Tim said._

"_That won't happen to me, Timmy. I'll never change."_

_Flashback_

Tim jumped up off the bed and forced himself out of the memory. He couldn't think about that time. It wasn't like that anymore. JJ wasn't his friend anymore. He was someone who had hurt him. Someone he would put in prison.

Tim couldn't help but think about that time though. JJ had been really good to him. He was much older than him, but treated him like he was an equal. He was the only person even close to his age that treated him like he wasn't a freak. He was like the brother he never had.

"Stop it!" Tim ordered himself. He had to stop thinking of JJ as a friend. He was not his friend. He was an enemy now. JJ had come back different after the war. He came back a person with so much rage that he took it out on people weaker than him. He took it out on Tim.

Just thinking about that time caused Tim incredible pain. It wasn't the physical pain. That he'd gotton over. It was the psychological pain that he still had to deal with. What JJ had done to him when he came back the first time had done him a lot of damage. It made it so that he couldn't trust people to this day. He even kept his team at a distance. He just couldn't let himself fully trust him. Once you've been betrayed by a friend once, you knew that it was likely to happen again, and Tim wouldn't let anything like that happen again.

Tim went back over to the bed and laid down. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, hoping that all the memories of his old friend would fade away, but knowing they wouldn't.


	3. Chapter 3

Tim woke up a few hours later and ventured downstairs. He found Gibbs in the kitchen by the stove.

Gibbs looked over at him. "Good, you're up. Come eat," Gibbs said as he placed some spaghetti on two plates and placed them on the table.

"Thanks, Boss," Tim said as he sat down and began to eat. They both ate silently for the next twenty minutes. Then Tim started to get up to bring his plate to the sink.

"Sit down," Gibbs ordered when he saw Tim start to get up.

Tim immediately dropped back in his chair. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew better than to argue when his boss used that tone of voice.

Gibbs was quiet for several minutes before finally saying, "I know you lied to me earlier."

"I don't know what-"

"Do not make it worse by lying to me again!" Gibbs said harshly.

Tim stayed quiet. He was screwed. He had to find a way to get Gibbs to believe what he'd told him earlier. He just had to. He couldn't let him find out the truth about JJ.

"Well? You gonna say something?" Gibbs asked impatiently.

"What's the point? It's obvious you're not going to believe anything I say," Tim said. He thought maybe if he acted angry and hurt that his boss was questioning him, he'd believe him.

"Hey! Don't you dare pull that hurt victim crap with me! You're lying and you know it!" Gibbs yelled.

"Right. Yeah, I just did this to myself. Sure,' Tim said sarcastically.

"Oh, I'm not saying that you weren't attacked, but wasn't by any damned mugger. Tony and Ziva found the contents of your wallet in the bushes. You put it there to make it look like a mugging, didn't you?"

Tim cringed. So that was how Gibbs had figured out that he was lying. Well, now he was screwed. Gibbs wasn't going to let this go until he had the whole ugly story.

"Didn't you!" Gibbs asked, louder this time.

"Yes," Tim said softly. There was no point in denying it. It would only make Gibbs even madder if he did.

"Why?"

"I can't tell you," Gibbs said. He couldn't tell Gibbs about JJ. He knew if he did, Gibbs would go after the man and he didn't want that. Despite everything that JJ had done, Tim still cared about him. He knew he shouldn't, but he did.

"Oh, you're going to tell me. I don't care if we have to sit here all night. Someone tried to kill you, McGee. I'm not letting that go. You're going to tell me everything," Gibbs informed him.

Tim sighed. "Why can't you just let it go? I can handle it."

Gibbs didn't reply. He just looked at Tim expectantly.

Tim knew that look. It clearly meant that his boss was done arguing about it and was waiting for an explanation. Still, Tim wasn't ready to give up. "Look, it was just a misunderstanding, okay? I didn't even get hurt that badly."

Gibbs continued to stare, but this time he did speak. "You can continue to argue as much as you want, but it's not going to change anything. You're going to tell me what's going on."

Tim slumped his shoulders in defeat. "Can you at least promise me you won't go after him?"

"Nope," Gibbs told him. He wasn't going to promise that. He knew already that he was probably going to break this guy's arms off.

Tim sighed. He wasn't surprised by the answer. Gibbs didn't make promises often, let alone promises that would leave someone who attacked his people unharmed. Honestly, Tim wasn't sure why he cared. After everything JJ had done, he should hate him. A part of him did hate him, but a part him also couldn't help but hope there was a part of his friend in there somewhere even though everything JJ said and did screamed that there wasn't. "His name is Jonathan Samson Jr. JJ for short."

"Why did he attack you? And why are you protecting him?" Gibbs asked. That was the thing he didn't get. Why was Tim so hell bent on making sure he didn't hurt this guy.

"Because he was my friend," Tim answered.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I may not be an expert, but I'm pretty sure friends aren't supposed to try to kill each other.'

"I said he_ was_ a friend," Tim emphasized. "I met JJ when I was ten. He was about fifteen or sixteen. He was like an older brother to me. He protected me when the bullies at school came after me and he made me feel better when my dad treated me more like a soldier than a son. I don't know what I would've done without him."

"What changed?" Gibbs asked.

"JJ joined the marines when he was eighteen. It's funny. I remember when he told me about it. I begged him not to come back like my father. My father was military his whole life. My grandmother used to tell me that that was why he was so cold sometimes," Tim said.

Gibbs nodded. "The military changes you, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worst."

"Well, I can't really speak about my father, but it definitely changed JJ for the worst. He didn't come back like my father. He came back worse. I was sixteen by the time he came back. I was ecstatic… until I realized just what was left of my friend. He wasn't the same happy, protective older brother type he was before. He came back with more rage than I'd ever seen. He was like he just didn't know how to live in the real world anymore without hurting people," Tim explained.

Gibbs nodded once more. He knew that type. Some marines just couldn't handle going back to everyday life after being at war. "Did he hurt you?"

Tim nodded and looked down at his hands. "At first he ignored me. He just acted like he didn't have time to be my friend anymore. God, I should've just stayed away from him."

"Hey. Look at me," Gibbs ordered.

Tim slowly picked his head up and met Gibbs' eyes.

"I don't care if you stalked this guy day and night. He did not have the right to put his hands on you," Gibbs said firmly. He still didn't know exactly what happened, but given what he'd heard so far, he was guessing that at the very least; his agent had been assaulted by his so called friend.

"I know. I just wish I'd stayed away. It wouldn't have happened if I had," Tim said.

"What wouldn't have happened?" Gibbs asked. He needed to hear the rest.

"I followed JJ one night to the park. He told me to leave him alone, but I wouldn't. He'd been treating pretty much like crap since he got back. I wanted to know why. I wanted to know why he was so mad at me. Why he stopped being my friend. All of a sudden he just went off the handle. He backhanded me across the face and then just started beating the crap out of me. H…he wouldn't stop," Tim said as his voice began to crack. He stopped talking and tried to calm himself down.

"It's alright, Tim. You don't have put on a brave front for me," Gibbs told him.

Tim took a deep breath. "The worst part was, he wasn't strung out on drugs or having a PTSD episode or anything. He knew exactly who I was. He just didn't care. Anyway, at some point I blacked out. I woke up in the hospital the next day. My dad was there. He told me everything would be okay. I think that was the first and only time my father ever spoke to me that soothingly."

"What happened to JJ?" Gibbs asked.

"I don't know. My dad would only tell me that I didn't have to worry about him anymore. I never asked what that meant. I was just glad that he was gone and I didn't have to see or talk to him ever again. And I didn't. Until today that is," Tim said.

"What really happened today?" Gibbs asked.

"What I told you was mostly true. JJ did attack me by my car. I managed to get in a couple of good shots though and I was able to get ahold of my gun."

"Well, then why didn't you arrest him?" Gibbs asked. He didn't sound angry, just confused.

"I don't know. I keep asking myself that very question. Why didn't I arrest him? And why did I lie to you when you asked? Why do I care what happens to him? He didn't care what could've happened when he beat the crap out of me. I do though. I shouldn't, but I do," Tim said.

Gibbs sighed. "You know I can't let this go, right? I can't let him get away with it," Gibbs told him. There was no way he was going to let someone like this roam the streets, especially when he knew it was possible that Tim was still at risk.

"I know. You should know something else too. He threatened me. He told me it wasn't over. He said he was going to destroy me," Tim said.

"You're staying with me until we catch him."

Tim opened his mouth to speak.

"That wasn't a request, so don't even bother trying to argue. I'm not risking your life. This bastard put you in the hospital twice already. I'm not letting him get the chance to do it a third time," Gibbs said firmly.

"Okay," Tim said. He knew better than to argue now. Gibbs wasn't going to back down. "Is it alright if I go back upstairs then? I'm kind of tired."

Gibbs got the message. Tim wanted to be alone for a while. Their conversation had been too overwhelming for him. "Go ahead."

Tim immediately stood up and headed for the stairs.


	4. Chapter 4

Gibbs was standing in MTAC staring at the screen. He was waiting for Naval Admiral William McGee, also known as McGee's father.

Normally Gibbs wouldn't go behind McGee's back to his father like this, but he had a feeling Tim wasn't exactly telling him the whole story regarding the incident with Sampson. Also, he wanted to know what McGee Sr. did to Sampson that quote, 'Destroyed his life.'

Within minutes, a middle-aged man with dark hair, dressed in a Navy uniform came onto the screen. "Agent Gibbs I take it?"

Gibbs nodded curtly. "Admiral McGee."

"Since I neither committed a crime, nor did I witness one, I can only guess that this is about my boy," William said.

"Yes. And a man named JJ Sampson." Gibbs distinctly heard a growl from the Admiral.

"That little prick go near my boy?" William asked angrily.

"I take you remember him then," Gibbs said sarcastically.

"You never forget the little bastard that beats your son nearly to death. That kid's lucky I didn't kill him!" William growled.

"Exactly what happened that night?" Gibbs asked. He knew most of what happened from Tim's point of view, but he wanted to know McGee Sr.'s take on it and what he did about it.

"You first, Agent Gibbs. Why are you inquiring about that piece of trash?" William asked.

Gibbs hesitated. He wasn't one to give out answers until he got the answers to his questions first. Also, he was a bit reluctant to tell the man Tim's business.

"Agent Gibbs, my relationship with my son is shaky at best. So unless you can give me a good reason why, I'm not going to risk that relationship," William said firmly.

Gibbs was actually glad to hear that. After the little Tim had told him about his father, he didn't have much respect for the elder McGee. But now it seemed like he was at least trying. "JJ Sampson has come to DC. He and Tim had a run-in."

William narrowed his eyes. "By run-in, what exactly do you mean?"

"It got physical, but Tim's okay," Gibbs assured the older man.

"Son of a bitch!" William growled. "Little bastard just never learns."

"We're looking for him now. That's why I need your help. I need to know how dangerous this guy is," Gibbs said. That was really the only reason he was having this conversation with the elder McGee. In any other circumstances, he would've let Tim decide if he wanted his father to know what happened.

"Well, he's ex-military. That in and of itself makes him dangerous to anyone he wants to harm. As for how far he's willing to go, if his brother hadn't stopped him, he would've killed my son," William said as he shifted in his chair. "As it is, he put Tim in the hospital with serious injuries. He coded on the operating table and he was in a coma for a week."

"Wait a second. A week? He said he woke up the next day," Gibbs said. It seemed that Tim was still lying to him. Why was he doing this? Why was he so hell bent on protecting this guy?

"That doesn't surprise me. Tim and the Sampson kid were friends once. I'm not proud of it, but JJ was there for him in a way I wasn't," William said.

Gibbs could sense the regret in the man. He was glad. The man should regret it. Tim was an amazing person. He deserved to be treated as such.

"Anyway, it wasn't until after JJ came back that things changed. He was bitter and angry. He was filled with rage. I recognized it. I've seen it before. I knew he was like a bomb just waiting to go off. I told Tim to steer clear of him," William explained.

"But he wouldn't listen," Gibbs said. It wasn't a question. He already knew that fact because Tim told him so.

"No. Like I said, Tim and JJ were inseparable. Tim looked up to him. He wanted his friend back and he wouldn't listen to anything I had to say. That's not really his fault though. Tim held a lot of resentment for me at the time and for good reason," he said.

"I'm sure," Gibbs couldn't help but say. "Sampson seems to think that Tim ruined his life. Why would he think that?"

"Because I made that little son of a bitch regret the day he ever even thought about touching my boy," William said.

"What did you do?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, I started by beating the ever loving crap out of him. He hurt my kid. No one does that without suffering serious, painful consequences," William said.

Gibbs nodded in agreement. He could appreciate that. When he got his hands on Sampson, he had something similar in mind himself.

"Then I outed him to the Marines. I made sure they knew exactly what they did."

"You got him a Dishonorable Discharge," Gibbs finished for him. He was a Marine, so he knew exactly what happened when a Marine did something like that even when on leave.

"Your damn right I did. He beat my son nearly to death. No way does he get to be labeled a hero. I made sure that little punk would never have anything good in his life. It was the least I could do after what he'd done to my boy," William said.

"With a dishonorable discharge, there's no way he'd be able to get a respectable job. No one would touch him," Gibbs said. Sampson hadn't been that far off. His life really was ruined. But in Gibbs' opinion, it was his own doing, and it appeared he hadn't learned from it.

"He's lucky I didn't kill him."

Gibbs nodded. "Okay, thank you, Admiral McGee."

William nodded. "You take care of my boy. Tell him I'll call him."

Gibbs nodded and then signaled the tech guys to sever the connection. He then headed towards the door.


End file.
